Jasper County Democrat, Volume 18, Number 67, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 November 1915 — Adorning the Thanksgiving Table [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Adorning the Thanksgiving Table

A PRETTILY d ecorated dining table makes an attractive setting for the Thanksgiving feast. Every year the shops are full of quaint suggestions for the fes-

tivity, from n.'i..ature representations of. the lordly gobbler to the homely but palatable pumpkin. And, best of all, many of these pretty favors and place cards can be made at home with very little trouble. There is perhaps nothing more effee- j tive among these new ideas than the i pumpkin centerpiece, or Jack Horner pie, as it is sometimes called. This is really' a most deceptive affair, for it looks like a genuine pumpkin, but is really cunningly fashioned from deep yellow tissue paper held in shape by a wire frame or a frame of rather stiff cardboard. The stem and leaves are made of dark green paper. The in- j terior of the pumpkin is hollow and can be filled with small favors for the guests, with ribbons leading from it to each plate. This table receives an added touch of gayety from having the edges wreathed with pumpkin vines adorned both with blossoms and miniature fruit. The vines themselves are made of wire wound with a tiny twist of cotton batting and covered with green paper. The small pumpkins are simply balls of cotton on a wire stem covered with yellow crape paper, while the blossoms are of yellow tissue. Just below the lace trimmed cloth this same table is draped with a roll of turkey paper, which is most effective. This is a white crape paper on which are printed large turkeys in nattural colors. It is gathered along the upper edge very slightly and fastened by pinning under the edge of the tablecloth. The place cards are small turkeys with easel backs that can be made from the little turkeys cut from the paper napkins that are got out for Thanksgiving. These little gobblers should first be mounted on heavy cardboard and then touched up with a little gold paint on the feathers to give them a hand painted effect. i A most amusing turkey centerpiece represents the piece de resistance of the Thanksgiving table as a very sporty bird indeed. He wears a high silk hat, he carries a cane under one arm, or, rather, under one claw, and in his beak is cocked a long black cigar. His feathers are white and brown and his wattles a brilliant red, and his tail is spread to its greatest extent. But, withal, he is a hollow sham, and his interior can be used as a receptacle for favors or bonbons. ' One of these gay birds would certainly create a great deal of merriment at the dinner table.

May we so order our lives that we may ever strive to be at one with God, not only to give but also to live thanks unto God. In this holy frame of mind may we all enter into the spirit of Thanksgiving day.